Red Sox Notes: Moncada, Buchholz, Papelbon

Manager John Farrell told reporters (including WEEI.com’s Ryan Hannable) that the Red Sox are discussing internal and external options for a pinch-running speed threat off the bench. Top prospect Yoan Moncada has been mentioned as a possibility to fill the role, though it is “yet to be determined” if Moncada could be promoted, Farrell said. Arguably the game’s best prospect, Moncada has hit .299/.413/.517 over a combined 476 plate appearances at the high-A and Double-A levels this season, not to mention 44 steals in 56 attempts. His lack of experience at Triple-A wouldn’t necessarily be an obstacle if he was to be used primarily as a pinch-runner, though Moncada is such a highly-touted young player that he might not need much more (or even any) seasoning at the plate. Moncada could also get at-bats against left-handed pitching, and maybe see some time at third base though he is still just learning the position.

It looks like the Red Sox may exercise their $13.5MM option on Clay Buchholz for 2017 after all, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes in his weekly notes column. Since losing his rotation job earlier this season, Buchholz has pitched well out of the bullpen, posting a 3.05 ERA and holding hitters to a .506 OPS over 20 2/3 relief innings, though he has also stepped out of the pen to deliver some quality spot starts. The Sox are one of the few teams wealthy enough to afford $13.5MM for a swingman, and they could prefer having a familiar option on hand should they face more rotation struggles in 2017.

Also from Cafardo’s column, he notes that some personal or family issues could be preventing from Jonathan Papelbon from signing with the Red Sox. A reunion between the Sox and their former closer has seemed like a possibility almost as soon as Papelbon was released by the Nationals, though that was two weeks ago and no deal appears imminent despite Boston’s continued interest. The longer he is out of action, presumably the longest it will take for Papelbon to get back into game shape in a minor league assignment, which is another issue since minor league seasons are soon wrapping up. Papelbon would have to sign before Thursday in order to qualify for a postseason roster.

In other Red Sox news from earlier today on MLBTR, the team talked to the White Sox about Chris Sale or Jose Quintana prior to the August 1 trade deadline, though talks didn’t materialize since Boston didn’t want to deal Jackie Bradley Jr. as part of the deal for either star lefty.

Comments

Christ, here we go again. Because Buchholz decides not to be terrible for a small period of time, Red Sox brass somehow decides to expect that he will continue that on a consistent basis. I was looking forward to finally being rid of that headcase next season. Buchholz is not a good pitcher. It’s time to face the facts.

With ERod and Wright not costing that much I don’t see this as that much of a gamble. He’s only a couple years off from being an All Star and would be pitching for his next contract. You can never have enough pitching and it would be a gamble and probably more money to sign a free agent on the market. He could be a valuable trade chip if he turns things around too.

Have you seen the potential free agent market? If Buchholz hits the market, he is arguably the best pitcher available. And I can promise you someone on that list will top $13.5mill. Which one is light years ahead of Buchholz over their careers? Hellickson?

Buchholz won’t be a mega blockbuster trade chip, but given the dearth of free agent pitching this off-season and the going rate for starters in trades, he will be far more valuable than you realize….

He is not even arguably the best pitcher available. If I’m a GM, I’d rather give a rotation spot to Colon, Hill, De La Rosa, Iwakuma, Volquez, Hellickson, Anderson, Dickey, or Casher. They’ll all either be cheaper than Buchholz’s 13.5 or better than what you can expect from him. Even if you want to bank on someone who’s had success in the past and might be able to turn it around you can get guys like Latos or Vogelsong on much cheaper commitments than you could from what Buchholz probably would want. That’s not even counting any starters that could appear on the trade block. Paying Buchholz one year for 13.5 isn’t the worst idea, but it’s still a sizable amount of money that 30 GM’s would rather spend if they had a little more certainty what they were spending it on. It’s a 13.5 million dollar bet that you’re going to get a good Bucholz who’s going to stay healthy. If you think that’s going to happen, good luck.

Is Buchholz related to John Henry? My god, what do the Sox see in this guy? Buchholz is ten years into his career, there is no ‘potential’ left to discuss, only a consistently questionable track record. Frustrating. Further, JBJ is the batter version of Buchholz, streaky and unpredictable. I would willingly have shipped JBJ at the deadline in a Sale or Quintana package – I don’t trust JBJ.

Not necessarily an accurate summary, though, especially without knowing the other names involved. What if the other prospects were Benintendi and Kopech, and Dombrowski found that an acceptable start to the deal?

If the other prospect was Benintendi, then the article would say Red Sox backed out because of him, not JBJ… as Benintendi has more perceived value at this point. Headliners get this treatment, not secondary or tertiary pieces. JBJ must have been the headliner.

look at the of depth issues the sox have with one guy hurt. now take away your cf in a potential sale or quintana trade. well as long as sale can get right it’s to be late so they only hit the ball to Mookie in RF I guess the trade makes sense.

look at the of depth issues the sox have with one guy hurt. now take away your cf in a potential sale or quintana trade. well as long as sale can get righties to be late so they only hit the ball to Mookie in RF I guess the trade makes sense.

Totally agree. You’re gonna to get Chris Sale and you won’t part with him? That is some kind of arrogance—yep the White Sox would just settle for some 25 year old prospects at AA and you have a deal. Amazing.

I completely agree at face value that its astounding and arrogant. But when you sit there are think about having to rely on Benintendi (who wound up hurt), Betts & Holt, that doesn’t sound like a playoff caliber outfield. Throw in JBJ and have Holt as a utility man, and it does look like a playoff caliber outfield. So yes, the Sox would definitely have a playoff rotation, but would lack the outfield depth they need to not have holes at the back of the lineup and would be losing a gold glove CF. I think if DD was going to deal he wanted something that the team had depth in. Without so many outfielders on the DL, it was too risky at the time.

If they were to talk in the off-season, I’m sure DD would have a different feeling on the matter.

Buchholz has performed exceptionally… Both exceptionally well and exceptionally poorly. I would except isle the option. The price and scarcity of starting pitching is such that I believe he has trade value at $13.5M.

I think Moncada is coming up when the roster expands. I think he will do more pinch running as we need more speed on the bases, but he will get some at-bats to earn his way into the line-up. Problem with calling him up sooner is wasting an option on another player to send him down just to call him up in a few days. Doesn’t make sense.

Can’t wait to see this kid at Fenway every day. He’s so big, yet so quick.

So true. Speed avoids double plays by eliminating the force out when they take 2nd. Speed turns singles into doubles and triples. Speed allows a runner to score from 1st on a ball in the gap. Speed intimidates the pitcher and distracts them from the task at hand, causing mistakes to happen. Same with the fielders (look at Melvin Upton Jr. inside the park HR the other day).

There’s so many advantages to being able to put speed on the bases late that wins ballgames.